St. George IRONMAN World Championship race to have huge impact on local traffic

The idea of an IRONMAN triathlon isn't new to St. George — the city has hosted an IRONMAN event every year since 2010. But the upcoming race this Saturday? Expect it to be bigger than ever, especially for anyone hoping to negotiate the traffic around Washington County.

Saturday's race, which begins in the early morning and won't end until midnight, marks a return to the full-length 140-mile distance that was used for the first few triathlons in the area in the early 2010s, meaning the course will cover huge swaths of the county, including along major roadways like state Route 18 and state Route 9, the main road to Zion National Park.

In addition, this year's event is the official 2021 IRONMAN World Championship, being held to make up for the cancellation of last year's main event due to COVID-19 concerns in Hawaii, where the race was initially scheduled.

The result, organizers say, could mean the biggest IRONMAN event ever had in southern Utah, along with the largest impacts on area traffic.

Some locals might have already noticed some of the impacts. Though the official race will be held on Saturday, May 7, athletes, volunteers and spectators have already started to arrive. Setup for areas such as SR-18 on the way to Veyo and areas along SR-9 in Hurricane is already underway, and downtown St. George is already set up to host the "IRONMAN Village" at Town Square Park.

Planning for the event has been underway for months, said Dave Hughes, regional manager with Utah Barricade, the company that provides the many traffic cones, signs and other tools used to help set up local roadways for the race. For an event that covers multiple municipalities, crossing state and local roads along the way, the effort requires collaboration between police departments, city governments, the state department of transportation, IRONMAN officials and others.

Though many St. George area residents may have to find alternative routes on Saturday, the local police forces have tried to ensure that it is as safe as possible for all parties traveling during the event, officials say.

“We plan to man every intersection along our course in Washington City, whether that's with police department personnel, our public streets department, our parks department, or other personnel," said Lt. Kory Klotz with the Washington City Police Department.

The race is scheduled to begin at 6:15 a.m. at Sand Hollow Reservoir in Hurricane, where the swim portion of the competition is scheduled. From there, the athletes will bike their way westward across much of the county before eventually taking off by foot and running across the finish line in downtown St. George.

Some road closures will go on until 7 p.m. Most of the downtown area surrounding Tabernacle St and heading north toward Bluff St will remain closed before and during the event.

Getting around is likely to take longer than usual for most travelers in the area, although alternative routes should let everyone get to where they want to go.

To help motorists keep track of which roads are closed, which are partially open and which are unaffected, local governments have put together a list of maps and schedules online at ironman.greaterzion.com. In addition, some maps and other information are available at www.TheSpectrum.com. Some of the main impacts are listed below:

Hurricane to Veyo

• SR7 heading north to State Street will be closed during the early hours while the race transitions from swimming to biking.

• Continuing into Telegraph Street, the race will go under the Veterans Memorial Highways and onto Red Hills Parkway.

• Bikers will head west into Snow Canyon Parkway and through Center Street and then onto Old Highway 91.

• Going North toward Veyo Gunlock Road will also be shut down and athletes will loop around onto State Road 18 toward St. George for the first loop.

• Once in Veyo at Gunlock Road, the athletes will head south through Highway 91

Veyo to St. George

• For the second loop of the biking segment athletes will head west at the intersection of State Street and Red Hills Parkway and continue through Snow Canyon Parkway.

• From Snow Canyon Parkway they will turn into Snow Canyon Drive and come back through State Road 18.

• Once they’ve cleared the intersection again, they will head south through Diagonal Street.

St. George city roads

• From Diagonal St competitors will go through Main St and drop off biking gear in exchange for running gear.

• Heading back through Main St into Diagonal competitors will run up to Bluff Street and cross into Snow Canyon Parkway.

• Turning into 1300 W the athletes will go across Sunset Boulevard and into Dixie Drive.

• A loop will be made at 100 N and allow runners to double back and go the way they came back to the finish line on Main Street.

"People are frustrated with the roads being closed. It's a challenge," Klotz said. "But if we can work together as a community, then I think it can be a good thing, and we can make it a successful event."

Elle Cabrera covers breaking news and topics. Please help us to continue producing this content at thespectrum.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: St. George IRONMAN traffic impact: How to get around Washington County